Civil Farewell Poem by D A Phinney

I see your face at the railing
Among a sea of faces.
Across, on another shore, someone has offered
Flame to the moth
That flutters weakly beneath your coat.
Who could oppose this journey?
You had everything squared up
Before boarding.
All talismans, best wishes, miss you's
Encased within the heart
Of your baggage sail with you. Now
Stately, and as if adrift,
You and the rest slip ponderously out,
While we, like barnacles, only cling
To the pier and watch
As you pass
Beyond the reach of voice.
In some other time and place
We would have set your ship afire.
I want to see you in a cloud,
Ascending, dispersing to the stars.
But in the end, as you fade
From sight, we are only
A cold ocean
Waving you away,
Waving your lifeless
Memory to shore.